McGwire-Sosa Notebook
Buck's call: McGwire visits Planet Maris
Posted: Tuesday September 08, 1998 01:11 PM
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Making the call: Buck plans to travel with the Cardinals to Cincinnati for a two-game series if McGwire does not hit No. 62 Tuesday in St. Louis
AP |
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Knowing it was just a matter of time before Mark McGwire
tied Roger Maris' home run record, Jack Buck was prepared to make his small
contribution to history.
Buck, the St.
Louis Cardinals broadcaster for 44 years, was aware that his words
would be forever connected with McGwire's deeds. He read from a script when
McGwire connected in the first inning Monday against the Chicago Cubs' Mike Morgan.
The call: "Lookit there, lookit there! McGwire Flight No. 61 to Planet
Maris! Pardon me for a moment while I stand and applaud!"
Buck is one of four announcers rotating duties in the KMOX broadcast
booth, but he also got to call No. 60 on Saturday. For that one, "Wake up,
Babe Ruth! There's company coming!"
If McGwire doesn't hit No. 62 Tuesday night (September 8), Buck will
make a rare road appearance when the team heads for Cincinnati for a
two-game series.
Among the broadcasters who didn't get to call it were Joe Buck and
Mike Shannon, Jack Buck's sidekick the last 27 years. Shannon was a
teammate of Roger Maris' with the Cardinals in 1967 and 1968.
Last week, Shannon said he had no idea what he would say if he got the
call for No. 62. Now that the moment is imminent, he hasn't changed his
game plan.
"I have no idea, none, and I ain't going to have one, either," Shannon
said. "I ain't kidding you now." Morgan's pitch
Cubs right-hander Mike Morgan felt a lot worse about losing the game than
surrendering McGwire's record-tying homer. The loss dropped Chicago into a
first-place tie in the wild-card race with the New York Mets.
Morgan, who has played for 10 teams, has yet to play in the
postseason.
"I hope Mark McGwire goes on and breaks Maris' record and we are
crowned world champions," Morgan said. "That would be a dream come
true.
"I hope I'll be pouring champagne in a few weeks when we win the wild
card."
Morgan, 38, was acquired in an August 25 trade with the Twins to
bolster Chicago's shaky rotation. He's 121-170 in a career that began with
Oakland in 1978.
After McGwire circled the bases in the first inning, third baseman Gary Gaetti came
over to make sure Morgan was OK.
"Yeah, I'm all right," Morgan replied. "But I'd like to have that
pitch back." Big Mac attack
McGwire set the stage for his record-tying homer with his best batting
practice session of the season.
McGwire's batting practices have been big crowd-pleasers since the
Cardinals acquired him last July. He outdid himself this time with 11
homers in 15 swings against first-base coach Dave McKay, his longtime BP
pitcher.
"Dave put every pitch on the tee," manager Tony La Russa said. "You
know how hard it is to do that."
McKay estimates he's given up 8,000 pregame homers to McGwire over the
years.
"He's the best BP thrower anybody could ever have," McGwire said.
Bittersweet Fargo
America loves Mark McGwire. Well, maybe not Fargo, North Dakota, Maris'
hometown.
Ken Schwinden, a friend of Maris, said he hated to see McGwire tie the
record, although he respected the feat.
"The kids are getting bigger and stronger today," Schwinden said from
his Fargo home.
With 18 games remaining, Schwinden conceded it was only a matter of
when -- and not if -- McGwire claims the record for himself.
"If he doesn't get six more, I'll be disappointed," Schwinden
said.
Wayne Blanchard, a longtime Maris friend, said he believes Maris would
have encouraged the St. Louis Cardinals slugger to go for it. Maris
finished his career with the Cardinals in 1968.
"He wouldn't mind that much," Blanchard said. "I think the record
meant a lot to him. But it wasn't a means to an end for him. ... I think
the fact that it lasted 37 years means a lot to his record."
Maris died of cancer December 15, 1985. Perfect pupil
Cardinals batting coach Dave Parker spends almost zero time with McGwire,
and thus claims no credit for his astounding success.
"You don't have to do anything with him," Parker said. "There's very
few things you've got to watch for with Mac."
Here's Parker's short checklist: He watches to see whether McGwire's
front shoulder is flying out, whether his knees are bent too deep, and
whether he's in too much of a crouch.
"Other than that, he knows himself as a hitter," Parker said. "You
just suggest things to him and he corrects them himself."
Briefly
After the game, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa flew to Tampa, Florida, to
attend the funeral for his mother, Oliva. He planned on being back for
Tuesday night's series finale against the Cubs. Oliva La Russa, 84, died
Friday after a long illness. La Russa said he stayed with the Cardinals
because he felt he owed it to the game to make sure his team challenged Sammy Sosa. ...
Both Jim Riggleman and Morgan, the Cubs' representatives in the interview
room after the game, have been with the Cardinals. Riggleman was the
Cardinals' first-base coach in 1989 and 1990. Morgan was 9-14 for St. Louis
in 1995 and part of '96. ... The Blue Angels squadron startled the crowd
when the jets screamed above Busch Stadium during a Cardinals' mound
conference in the eighth inning. Sosa's mom
"My son will get as many home runs as God wants," Sammy Sosa's mother said
after watching Mark McGwire edge closer to breaking the major league
home-run record Monday.
Mireya Sosa said from her home in the Dominican Republic that she is
optimistic her son, who has 58 home runs this season to McGwire's 61, still
could pass McGwire to set a new home-run record.
But if not, it will be God's will, she said.
"What I know is that my son will get as many home runs as God wants,
not one more or one less," she told The Associated Press. "What is
happening this year to Samuel is because of the prayers that I say every
day."
McGwire tied Roger Maris' 37-year-old home-run record Monday with a
line drive into the left-field stands.
The Cardinals beat Sosa's Chicago Cubs 3-2 in St. Louis.
Mireya Sosa's home in San Pedro de Macoris, about 40 miles east of
Santo Domingo, was packed with visitors watching the game.
The home run race has dominated Dominican newspapers and television
for weeks. On Monday, the country's two largest newspapers together
dedicated 11 of their 26 pages of sports to the showdown. Maris'
1961 record topped the 60 Babe Ruth hit in 1927.
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